Drama Playbook - Series 2 Success Stories from Aframe Customers Drama Production Playbook - Series 2 Success Stories from Aframe Customers x Introduction To This Playbook < So what exactly is a playbook? In sporting terms, a playbook is the set of plans the coach uses to ensure the team succeeds. For Aframe, these ‘plays’ are really just a metaphorical device to bring together a series of different workflows that might be employed by a particular television project, in this case Drama production. While the scripted nature of drama means shoot ratios are comparatively lower than for unscripted, there is still a prerequisite to review the day’s rushes as quickly as possible. Most TV dramas tend to be a co-production so input is amassed from a host of collaborators, often found in disparate locations. It’s common practice that a lot of preparatory work is performed before filming starts – such as camera tests, casting, location recces and test shoots. That material then needs to be reviewed and shared around. The secrecy around plotlines (especially for continuing dramas and soaps) means footage has to be distributed with absolute security. This playbook reveals four key workflows that enable productions to circumvent these challenges efficiently and securely: • Getting access to the day’s rushes in its native camera format quickly and efficiently. • Simplifying the review and approval process. • Efficient collaboration between globally dispersed teams. • Cloud powered post production. The three productions featured in this playbook represent some of the UK’s finest recent drama output; the BAFTA Award winning gangster series ‘Peaky Blinders’ produced by Tiger Aspect and Drama Republic’s political thriller ‘The Honourable Woman’ both occupied primetime slots for the BBC, whilst Darlow Smithson Productions brilliantly serialized the Industrial Revolution in Channel Four’s ‘The Mill’ with post-production managed by Timeline TV in MediaCityUK. This playbook gives an insight into the speed and flexibility of a powerful solution used on some of the most creatively challenging workflows in TV. Find out more at aframe.com. Share this... aframe.com UK & EU: +44 (0)800 197 6870 US: +1 978-799-9440 2 Drama Production Playbook - Series 2 Success Stories from Aframe Customers Blindingly Fast Review & Approval Tiger Aspect Productions, part of the Endemol Group are internationally recognized as one of the UK’s most prolific producers of drama, entertainment and factual shows. Their latest drama commission revolves around a gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham just after World War 1. The story centres on the historic Peaky Blinders gang who sewed razor blades in the peaks of their caps and their fierce boss, Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy), who means to move up in the world. Series two brings Hollywood star Tom Hardy into the fold, seeking revenge for Tommy’s past. The successful delivery of media movement on the production of the crime series ‘Ripper Street’, provided the catalyst for Tiger Aspect to extend their allegiance with Aframe’s specialist software for the production of award winning show, ‘Peaky Blinders’. Challenge Filming of the second series would feature a multitude of settings including Leeds, Bradford, Keighley, Manchester, Liverpool and Birkenhead. Sending media to and from multiple destinations involves managing the transfer of very large amounts of complicated video data. In many cases this involves sending drives by courier or struggling with on-premise solutions. The producers on ‘Peaky Blinders’ required a platform that would allow them to work around the UK without costly hardware, software or training. They would need to handle the entire production online and be able to quickly share footage, feedback and any edits securely with a large number of executives on the move. Solution The drama department benefited strongly from sharing a common workspace tailored specifically to the requirements of the second series. Dailies, along with associated metadata, were all stored on Aframe and made accessible, instantaneously, to anyone involved in the project – no dedicated hardware or software was required. Being device and location agnostic meant executives could review, log, annotate and download what was being filmed as it was uploaded. Aframe’s multi-format ingest granted producers maximum flexibility to use any available recording device without the need to pre-transcode before it is uploaded. Share this... aframe.com UK & EU: +44 (0)800 197 6870 US: +1 978-799-9440 3 Drama Production Playbook - Series 2 Success Stories from Aframe Customers A web proxy of any clip uploaded is automatically created so users can simply email collaborators a link with expiry dates to the footage, which is viewable on a standard web browser or mobile device. This ability to view clips on the move and the option to download selected clips for offline viewing on laptops and PCs ensured that even when Tiger Aspect executives were unable to attend an edit viewing, they were still very much part of the process. “Aframe proved its value again during the production of ‘Peaky Blinders.’ The main benefit for us is the speed of sharing footage with executive producers and the executives at BBC2. The simplicity of being able to review footage from wherever they are makes it extremely convenient, collaborative and far more cost effective than our previous methods. It has certainly aided in the quick and efficient post production of the show” said Nicky Poulton, Drama Production Manager at Tiger Aspect. All user activity was captured and displayed on a simple dashboard so project administrators could monitor the comments and edits of each team member. What’s more, at the click of a button, Aframe’s permission controls ensured the IP was protected and collaborators could be monitored at all times - project owners had the ability to invite users and specify their level of access and functionality within each collection. Results Aframe provided an easier and more secure way to work than its previous dailies review process. Head of Drama Will Gould concludes: “Not only has Aframe provided significant benefits in terms of the production and post-production processes, but we continue to be impressed by its ease of use. People are comfortable with the solution and enjoy using the platform, and although we do alternate staff between productions, Aframe is so user- friendly that there is very little training needed.” “Overall, the platform is a great asset to the team and we will continue to work with Aframe where we can on future projects.” Share this... aframe.com UK & EU: +44 (0)800 197 6870 US: +1 978-799-9440 4 Drama Production Playbook - Series 2 Success Stories from Aframe Customers Mobile Review & Approval Drama Republic is a dynamic, new, independent television production company in the heart of London’s Soho, specialising in high quality drama. Written, produced and directed by BAFTA winner Hugo Blick, ‘The Honourable Woman’ is an eight part political thriller starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, set against an international backdrop in the US, the Middle East and London. Challenge The workflow involved distributing daily rough assemblies from footage shot in the UK and Morocco to a group of exec producers, directors and editors on location and in the production office. The production team demanded a platform that could limit access to certain members of the team, facilitate the ability to view clips on mobile devices and the option to download selected clips for offline viewing on laptops and PC’s. Solution Productions of this scale often use standalone digital dailies systems that are costly and hard to use. Aframe’s cloud video platform allowed cuts to be uploaded swiftly, stored securely in the cloud and made ready for review immediately to a geographically dispersed team of professionals on the move – without the need of expensive hardware. Drama Republic had edit assistants upload proxies to Aframe’s secure private cloud, where Aframe created a link to the clips and automatically sent it with an expiration date to team members and execs, who could review and approve content online, or download it for viewing offline. “With over three months’ worth of filming on location in the UK and Morocco, Aframe gave us a platform that let all our production team keep in touch with the latest cuts and promos each day – across our entire workflow” said Susy Liddell, Director of Production for Drama Republic. Share this... aframe.com UK & EU: +44 (0)800 197 6870 US: +1 978-799-9440 5 Drama Production Playbook - Series 2 Success Stories from Aframe Customers Aframe’s accelerated web uploader and desktop app are able to deliver over 15x faster uploads than FTP and with far greater reliability; with the ability to pause and resume and intelligently handle connectivity issues to avoid corrupt files and frustrating restarts. When reviewing the footage, Drama Republic were able to stay on top of the edit and provide feedback on changes that needed to be made. This permitted editors to generate a faster turnaround in decision-making and deliver a more cost effective edit. Project administrators could control who had access to the media with Aframe’s permissions structure and share links with expiry dates, ensuring that IP was protected and monitored at all times. Coupled with Aframe’s multi-layered cloud infrastructure and FACT certification, Drama Republic’s content was completely safe in the cloud. Results “We appreciated the added peace of mind that Aframe provided